Are You Mine?
by xXLadyRachelXx
Summary: Sequel to 'Do I Wanna Know'. Although Brad Maddox and Adam Rose have been dating for a year now, the former General Manager of Raw can't help but often feel distrust for Adam after that one incident with an ex-girlfriend. And that feeling only grows stronger when he notices that Adam has been acting a bit strange lately. Is history doomed to repeat itself? Contains slash.
1. Power Couple

**Chapter 1**

 **Power Couple**

So it's true when people say that time can often fly by without you realizing it... Brad Maddox couldn't agree more with that.

A year had passed after he had entered a relationship with the WWE's biggest party animal Adam Rose and from the very beginning, the former General Manager of Raw knew that this relationship was going to be much different than all the other relationships he had in his past. Adam was the first man he ever fell in love with and he wanted him to be the only person in his love life. All those nutty fangirls who tweeted their undying love (which they would most likely abandon in a week of two after they'd lay eyes on another wrestler) to him while they were well aware of his sexuality could all drop off the edge of the Earth for all Brad cared.

Sitting backstage, Brad stared at the large TV that was attached on the wall, occasionally taking a sip of his bottle of water. Tonight there was another live show on Raw and this time, his boyfriend Adam was scheduled to have a match. He had to wrestle against Rusev, a wrestler with a higher status, the chance that the party animal would lose was high, but Brad was glad for Adam that he could have at least a match. And hell, even if he would lose... the former General Manager would be proud of him. He was putting his body at risk almost every night, that was something to be proud of for sure.

Brad watched as Adam attempted to perform his finishing move, the Party Foul, which was cut short when Rusev caught him with his own finisher, forcing the party animal to submit and tap out. The crowd emitted a mixture of cheering and booing as the bell rang five times. Rusev's theme song echoed throughout the entire arena, Brad could hear it all the way from where he was standing, it was that loud. Summer Rae, Rusev's new companion, grinned from ear to ear and clapped her hands. Lana had a far more better chemistry with the Bulgarian wrestler than Summer, if you'd ask Brad.

The former General Manager didn't feel any disappointment when he saw Adam hobbled towards the ramp in defeat. No, it was just like he predicted to feel; pride.

'Hey, Brad!'

A familiar voice made Brad look up in surprise. A blonde woman with pink streaks in her hair accompanied by a tall man with a bald head, both dressed in fancy clothing, approached the former General Manager of Raw. It were Cesaro and Natalya. Brad noticed the Canadian Diva looked and acted a lot more happier now that she was dating the Swiss, she wasn't like this at all back when she was married to Tyson. Everyone here backstage knew about the divorce, everyone knew Natalya left Tyson for Cesaro. But hell, who could actually blame her? Tyson treated his wife like dirt, it was because of him Natalya often walked through the backstage hallways with tears in her eyes. But despite everything that had happened, Brad had heard that the two broke off the relationship on good terms. Hell, they even got shared custody for their cats. Thinking about that made Brad want to chuckle and shake his head. Jesus, everything was possible these days...

'Oh hey, Nattie.' the former General Manager said. 'What's up?'

'We are doing fine, thanks!' the Canadian Diva replied. 'We have just finished moving everything into our new home, I bet the cats will love it!'

Brad saw that Cesaro curled the corners of his mouth into a smile, but it was not a mocking one or anything. The Swiss knew how precious the cats were for Natalya, the former General Manager highly doubted they would have any kids in the future; the cats were practically already their children.

Brad nodded. 'I bet they will.'

'So, how are things with you and Adam holding up?' Cesaro asked. 'Is everything okay with you guys?'

The former General Manager of Raw would never forget the day where he and his boyfriend announced their relationship on social media. The news spread like a wildfire, in less than a minute dozens of reactions poured in. Some were positive, others negative, but most of the reactions were positive. And of course it didn't last long before the WWE knew about this as well, but just like they did when Darren came out of the closet, they fully supported the men's sexuality and relationship. Their colleagues didn't see it coming, but they didn't treat them any differently nonetheless. Sometimes a negative comment would appear on Twitter, but Brad and Adam weren't bothered by that all for a long time; in fact, they even laughed about. Those people were just plain ignorant, and if they wanted to remain like that, that was fine. No mean comments would ever separate the two.

'Things are actually going pretty well, thanks for asking that.' Brad said. 'Adam took me to this fancy restaurant when we had a show in Atlanta and we had a great time!'

'We sure did, didn't we Braddy?' a familiar voice with a South-African accent asked behind him, followed by a pair of strong arms wrapping around Brad's chest, pulling him in for a playful hug.

'Ah, Adam!' Brad exclaimed in surprise. Damn, his boyfriend was a pro when it came to sneaking up on him, he knew he loved giving him a sudden hug or kiss by surprise. And even backstage, Adam couldn't help but do it.

'I've been looking for you, babe!' Adam said, giving Brad a quick kiss on his cheek. In the beginning of their relationship, Brad would often blush in surprise when Adam would do something like this public, but now that a year had passed, he had gotten used to this. 'I was worried you had already left!'

'I don't think Brad would ever leave without you, Adam.' Natalya said. 'You wouldn't have to worry about that.'

Brad chuckled. 'You did well out there, Adam. Couldn't be any more proud of you.'

'Glad to hear that.' Adam meant it when he said that; over the past months, he had gone from a mid-carter to a jobber, something every wrestler dreaded. But hell, if Brad would always be proud of him despite the fact that he was losing so many matches... then it wouldn't matter to him at all.

And as long as Braddy was on his side, nothing could break him.

* * *

Much to the party animal's relief, Brad's adorable looks had never changed during the time they were dating. He still had the same short, curly brown hair, baby blue eyes and cute tip-tilted nose; he was still the same man he fell in love with last year.

After the show had ended, the wrestlers and Divas had all traveled back to the hotel they would stay in for the night, only to leave for the next show the next day. Lying down in your bed at night was one of the very few moments of rest a wrestler could have, which was why it was possibly the only relaxing moment of the day. And right now, Adam was taking as much advantage of it as possible; this was the only moment where he could spend proper time with his boyfriend.

A year had passed and Adam's love for Brad had only grown stronger. The lovers were lying in their bed in their hotel room, enjoying this peaceful moment they had together. A relaxed smile spread across the party animal's face as he ran his fingers through his boyfriend's hair over and over again; it had a relaxing effect for both men. The former General Manager rested his head against Adam's chest, closing his eyes and letting out a soft sigh. This was absolutely wonderful, the feeling of being so close to Adam's body was indescribable.

'It's crazy, isn't it?' the Former General Manager suddenly asked.

The party animal briefly is eyes in confusion and stopped touching the former General Manager's hair. 'Huh? What's crazy?'

Brad opened his eyes and glanced up at his boyfriend. 'One year has already passed in the blink of an eye, it went by so fast... it's actually pretty crazy, if you think about it.'

'You're right about that...' It was true what Brad said. It felt like this past year had gone by with the speed of light and in all this time, they had done so much together. They had moved into their new place together, they went on romantic dates, they had traveled all over the country to perform for huge crowds in sold-out arenas and they had been making plans for the future. Would they still be with the WWE in a couple of years? That could happen, with a bit of luck. But if one of their contracts would expire or the WWE would promptly release one of them, it would be much harder to spend time together.

And that's why Brad and Adam valued all the time they had together.

'I hope many other years will follow, Braddy.' Adam said. 'Because honestly... dating you is the best thing that has ever happened to me.'

Hearing those words was enough to make Brad's chest feel like it was glowing from the inside. He scooted a bit closer to the party animal and planted a gentle kiss on his lips. No matter how many times he would kiss him, every kiss would still feel warm and loving. Adam closed his eyes and let out a soft hum of satisfaction.

Brad broke the kiss and placed his cheek back on Adam's chest, smiling from ear to ear.

'I could say the same thing, Adam.'


	2. There It Is Again

**Chapter 2**

 **There It Is Again**

'Wake up, Braddy. You don't wanna miss out on breakfast, do you?'

Those words from Adam being whispered into his ear was all the former General Manager needed to wake up. He slowly opened his eyes and a small smile spread across his face when his boyfriend's hand gently touching his stomach; this was such a nice way to wake up, it was so warm, so loving. He felt Adam's body pressed against his, which made his morning only better.

'Nah...' Brad let out a yawn. 'There's no way I would ever want to miss out on that.'

'That's how I know ya!' The party animal slightly leaned forward and kissed Brad on his temple. 'Come on, get up. I would hate to see you hungry.'

The former General Manager of Raw nodded and sat up. Glancing at Adam, he couldn't help but let out a snort of amusement. Adam's long, curly, dark brown hair was a tangled mess, Brad thought it was actually quite a fitting look for him. Adam had never lost his love for partying during their relationship, he had made that perfectly clear whenever he and Brad went out for clubbing. After hours of of drinking, having fun and rocking out to the music playing in the club, thin strands of hair would be often sticking against his sweaty forehead and his well-maintained hair had turned into a total mess that was often nearly impossible to brush through. But Brad wouldn't be easily embarrassed for Adam's behavior on parties, he had gotten used to that by now. Hell, he too enjoyed having a drink and a good time. The former General Manager of Raw often noticed that he felt like something, or rather, somebody was missing while they were partying the night away... and he knew exactly who that possibly could be.

It were no other than the rosebuds.

It's sad but true, but everything comes to an end one point in the WWE. And the rosebuds were no exception. As time went on, the contact between the rosebuds and their ringleader became less and less frequent, most likely due the relationship and the busy traveling schedule. It didn't last long before the rosebuds completely disappeared out of the picture and started living their own lives. Brad sometimes missed the rosebuds, but at the same time, he enjoyed the fact that he and Adam had a bit more privacy now. Life goes on, that's how it is.

Brad got out of the bed and scratched the back of his head. 'I know you are staring at me, Adam.' he said. He could practically feel the party animal's eyes scanning over his well-shaped body, he was pretty sure a huge smirk was displayed on Adam's face right now. His boyfriend would always compliment his body, it didn't matter if he was in the shower or if they were making sweet love before going to sleep.

'Hey, that's your fault, you know...' Adam replied, teasing him. 'You're standing there, all pretty and cutesy in your boxer shorts.'

Brad grabbed his pillow and threw it at the party animal's head, whose smirk just wouldn't disappear from his face. 'Jerk. Just shut up and get dressed up already.' the former General Manager of Raw said. Though those words sounded snappy, he was actually joking. 'Breakfast might get cold because of you if you don't hurry up.'

'Alright, hold your horses, Braddy!' Adam chuckled, dropping the pillow next to the bed. He absolutely loved it when Brad was speaking like this, it made him look even more adorable. God, he just loved everything about him. From the way he smiled when he gave him a surprise kiss to him rolling his eyes in annoyance when the flight the crew was supposed to get was delayed for one more hour. 'Just let me get dressed up, okay?'

'Hmm, I'd probably do the same thing.' Brad mumbled. 'Can't appear like this downstairs.'

'Don't worry about that.' Adam walked over to his boyfriend and kissed him on the forehead. 'You already look perfect for me... even if you can be a total lemon sometimes.'

Brad softly chuckled. So cheesy and yet so cute.

* * *

When the two men entered the restaurant of the hotel after they dressed up, they were immediately greeted with the smell of bacon grease and scrambled eggs; there was nothing better than the smell of a delicious breakfast in the morning. A group of other wrestlers and Divas had also woken up early and had already sat down at the tables in little groups, some of them were having a little chat, others were eating their breakfast. Viktor and Konnor had joined with Ryback and Bad News Barrett at one table and they would often glance at the table where Paige, Sasha Banks and the Bella Twins were sitting, before continuing their chat which was most likely about the Divas. A group of writers for Raw were discussing what storyline should be entered on the next live show next week; they were the kind of people you'd love and hate at the same time. Cesaro and Natalya had a table for their own, sharing a pleasant, calm conversation. Brad and Adam walked towards the buffet, each grabbed a plate and started putting their food on their plates. The food was still warm, thank goodness. They sat down at a table and dug in.

'Braddy?' Adam asked after swallowing down a piece of bacon. 'Do you have any idea when you're going to wrestle again? It's been quite a while and yet they still don't have a storyline for you... I think it's pretty unfair.'

'No, they haven't told me anything yet.' Brad shook his head. 'It's frustrating, it really is, but I guess I still have to wait a little longer. Who knows, maybe the writers will come up with something good.'

Adam nodded. He knew how much his boyfriend wanted to wrestle again, it was all he wanted to do his entire life. It upset him to see him being frustrated about sitting on the sidelines for such a long time, he wished he could help him, but there was barely anything he could do. Vince McMahon, Triple H and the writers were the ones who were in control; they were the ones pulling the strings. But maybe Brad was right... maybe they will come up with something good for him in the future. It was just a matter of time.

The party animal nodded. 'I hope so. I really do.'

Suddenly, Brad felt the table leaf underneath his fingertips slightly vibrating. It was an easy guess what could've produced that; Adam's cell phone. A cell phone was possibly one of the main essentials a wrestler needed to have, you'd never know whenever Vince decided to give you that one major push in your career... or decided to release you. Adam picked up his cell phone and checked the screen. That's when Brad noticed something. His boyfriend had a relaxed look on his face this morning, but for some reason, his face was now expressing... slight surprise.

'Hold on a second.' the party animal said. 'I gotta pick this up.'

Before Brad could ask who it was, Adam had promptly gotten up from his seat and quickly walked away from the table, heading towards the exit of the hotel's restaurant. The last thing the former General Manager of Raw saw was his boyfriend pressing the screen of his cell phone with his thumb and pressing the device against his ear before disappearing out of his sight.

Almost immediately, a very unpleasant feeling filled every empty spot in his belly. A feeling he had tried to ignore for such a long time.

No, not now... things were going so well lately, damn it!

Brad knew exactly what that feeling was; he was feeling once again doubts about Adam's loyalty to him. Why did he look so surprised? Why would he walk away? He would pick up his calls even when Brad was around. Could it be that... something was going on behind his back?

Brad shook his head. He knew he shouldn't be thinking paranoid thoughts like this, but he couldn't help it. He tried to forget that awful night as much as possible, because if he would think about it, he would go insane. But this time, the memory mercilessly invaded his brain. The memory he wished he would forever forget.

The memory of Adam kissing his ex-girlfriend Janelle in the Exotic Express.

It made Brad feel sick to his stomach, he could almost throw up, it was that terrible. He had never felt so heartbroken and enraged on that night, it was enough for him to punch Adam on the lip and end the relationship. If he thought about it afterwards, he did feel regret about punching Adam, but by that time, he was so blinded by rage that it was the only thing that he wanted to do. The three days that followed afterwards had to be the worst days of his life, he did nothing else but deeply resenting Adam, avoiding him whenever he tried to apologize for what he had done and trying to forget about him as much as possible. At one point he decided to put an end to his career in the WWE, convinced that his childhood dream of becoming the next big thing in the WWE would never come true and the break-up with Adam only added fuel to the fire. Brad wanted to get away from everything. From the WWE and from Adam Rose.

However, on that one night, when Adam visited him in his hotel room to apologize for one last time, the former General Manager of Raw had found the will to forgive his then-ex-boyfriend. Because somewhere, deep inside his heart, he still loved him. The two lovers passionately rekindled their relationship that night.

But still, even after the night where Brad had forgiven Adam for what he had done, something had found his way inside him and lingered there for a full year now. And that something had snuggled inside Brad's mind and would only come out whenever the former General Manager would see his boyfriend with a woman. Yes, he had forgiven Adam, but he had never forgotten what he had done. He was capable of being seduced by women even if he was dating a man, he had made that pretty clear by now. It was kind of strange... When Brad spotted Adam talking to a man backstage, he didn't feel any worry... but as soon as he caught him talking to a woman, he couldn't help but fearing he might start or already have an affair with her. And it was all because of that goddamn slut Janelle. Brad hoped she would rot in Hell.

Fights with your significant other are quite common in relationships, he knew that, but so far the biggest fight he had with Adam was when he kissed Rosa Mendes as a part of a storyline he was in at that time. The writers knew that Adam was bisexual, so they thought it was a good idea to let Adam star in a storyline with the Diva, where they had a romantic interest in each other. But apparently they didn't give a damn about the fact that he was dating Brad, the insensitive bastards. When Brad saw Rosa kissing Adam on live TV, he thought he was going to explode with anger; it immediately brought back the memory of Janelle. Even though he knew that this was all staged, seeing Adam pretending to give into the kiss was enough to bring back that horrible memory. That night in their hotel room all hell broke loose, he was that angry. Adam attempted to mend things with saying that he didn't enjoy the kiss at all, that he had no choice and that he was about to vomit when it was happening. When he remembered Brad that this was all staged and that he had no feelings for Rosa whatsoever, the former General Manager of Raw finally managed to calm down. Luckily the storyline was short-lived.

If you can't trust your partner, then what's the point in having a relationship together, you may ask. That was true, but Brad loved Adam, he loved him with all his heart. He wanted to fight for this relationship, Adam was the one who made him happy, he only wanted him. But the unpleasant feeling in his stomach whenever he saw him around a woman would never leave him alone. He tried to ignored it, which had worked really well so far. Brad and Adam had good moments most of the time, but as soon as the party animal was hanging out with a woman, the doubts plagued the former General Manager's mind mercilessly. What if that person who was calling Adam was a woman? Brad was almost desperate to know about this.

Just then, he saw Adam returning to the hotel's restaurant, walking towards their table. The relaxed look on his face had returned as well.

'Sorry I kept you waiting, Braddy!' he said before sitting down on his chair again. 'I hope my breakfast hasn't gone cold!'

'Nah, don't worry about that... I bet it's still warm.' Brad replied. He wanted to eat a piece of his scrambled eggs, but the feeling in his stomach made it almost impossible for him to eat. 'Who was it, anyway?'

'Oh, just my mom.' the party animal replied. 'She wanted to know how me and her son in law were doing.'

'Right...' Brad mumbled while staring at his plate. He had lost his appetite by a long time now.


	3. A Word Of Advice

**Chapter 3**

 **A Word Of Advice**

All day long, Brad was unable to shake off the unpleasant feeling in his stomach, which had almost become sickening by now. He had tried to ignore it for eight hours straight, but it was like the feeling had returned with a vengeance for ignoring it for so long; it was here to stay. It didn't even leave him while he was busy with his daily life, it had stuck with him when he left the hotel with the rest of the crew, waited for their flight to arrive at the crowded airport, made a three-hour trip to the next city (while they were sitting in the plane, he and Adam had held hands all the time while staring at the clouds passing them by; Adam made a comment about how he wondered how clouds would taste like as a child) and even now, while he was wandering through the backstage of the arena where the WWE was having a live show at the moment. He was alone; Adam was having a match right now, but he honestly didn't feel like watching this time.

The former General Manager had kept the feeling hidden from his boyfriend all the time, he preferred to keep this for himself for now. Besides, he hoped the doubts would fade away over the course of the day... but it turned out he had assumed wrong. He wanted to believe that it was Adam's mother who had called him all the way from South Africa this morning, he really did, but it felt like the feeling that had been lingering around for the whole day tried to convince him otherwise.

What if Adam was... lying?

Okay, he seriously had to cut out with this shit right now. He was getting paranoid, this was becoming unhealthy! Adam hadn't told him one lie during this whole relationship, he had always been honest with him, he had claimed many times that he hated lying. But this was kind of ironic, because this was coming from a man who had shamelessly kissed his ex-girlfriend in front of his boyfriend's eyes a year ago... this only made the doubts worse. God, it just confused Brad so much.

Adam's hadn't noticed anything about what was bothering Brad today, but he liked to keep it like this for now; he needed to figure it out by himself. There was no need for drama now. But still, he had the strong urge to share these thoughts to somebody, someone who he could trust. What about Cesaro and Natalya? Brad thought about it, but in the end, he decided not to do it. Not that he didn't trust them, on the contrary even, but the former General Manager of Raw knew the couple had their own troubles to worry about right now. Tyson had suffered a major neck injury a while ago, if it had gone any worse he could've ended up being paralyzed for life. Sure, he might have acted like a total jerk to his former wife, but damn, he didn't deserve this. The chance was big that this injury might put an end to his career, it was the kind of nightmare every wrestler and Diva dreaded. And despite everything that had happened, Natalya would be worried about his well-being and often visit him to make sure he was doing okay; surprisingly, Cesaro approved of this. Brad could imagine this was very soothing for Tyson, it sealed the confirmation that he and Natalya had indeed separated on good terms.

While wandering through the hallways of the backstage, the former Manager of Raw wondered who he could entrust his honest thoughts to. From the corner of his eye, he spotted Dean Ambrose and Renee Young walking past him; the man had put his arm around the backstage reporter's waist. That's odd... Brad thought she was dating Roman after she had broken up with Seth. They must have broken up as well then. But right now, there were more important things on Brad's mind. Who could he possibly talk to about his problems...?

Just then, Brad had found the solution. Of course! Darren!

Ever since the former General Manager of Raw had come out of the closet, he and Darren Young had formed a somewhat closer friendship. It was very pleasant for Darren to know that he was not the only gay man working here in the WWE, which was why he and Brad had started hanging around together. Adam got along great with him as well. The former General Manager of Raw hoped he would understand him.

The only thing he had to do now was to find him... where could Darren possibly be? Brad looked around him, hoping he was able to catch a glimpse from his friend. But even though there were quite some wrestlers, Divas and other crew members present backstage, it looked like Darren wasn't here. Brad thought about where he could possibly be. The cafeteria was the last option left, if Darren wasn't there, it looked like Brad would have to keep his thoughts for himself a day longer. He headed towards the cafeteria, deeply hoping that his friend was indeed there. He turned around a corner, he was just a few steps away from entering the cafeteria. Just from a single glance, he realized that his little search had paid off.

Darren was sitting at a table, checking his cell phone and softly sniggering; Brad guessed he was reading something amusing. He entered the cafeteria and walked towards the man. 'Hey, Darren!' he said.

His friend looked up from his phone in surprise, recognizing the former General Manager's voice. 'Oh hey, Brad!' he replied. 'How are you holding up?'

'Well... not so well, actually.'

'Really?' Darren asked, cocking his eyebrow. 'Why, what's going on? Is there something wrong with Adam? Have you two been fighting or something?'

'No no no, it's not that...' Brad grabbed a chair and sat down next to his friend. 'It's just that... I feel that there's something off about Adam lately.'

'What to do you mean, there's something off?'

'You see, Darren...' Brad stared at the table leaf, slowly twiddling his thumbs. 'This morning when we were having breakfast, Adam got a phone call which he wanted to pick up in private. He looked... surprised when he saw the number, I don't know how else to describe it. Adam came back later on and when I asked him who it was, he said that it was his mom. But I don't know, Darren, it's just... I don't know if Adam was telling the truth or not. His mother has called him many times before and he would always look relaxed, so why did he react like that?'

'So? Maybe he was just didn't expecting her to call at that time.'

'You have a point in that, Darren, but I just...' Brad let out a sigh. Fuck it, he had started this conversation for a good reason; now he had to tell Darren what he was really feeling. 'You know that one time I told you about catching Adam with his ex-girlfriend, right?'

'Well shit, of course I remember.'

'Ever since then... uh... damn, how do I tell you this... I sometimes don't know if I can really trust Adam at sometimes, you know what I mean? Every time when I see him with a woman, I get fucking paranoid about him possibly having an affair with her. I have tried to ignore it, I really did, but since this morning I can't help but think that there's something up with Adam. What if the person that was calling him was actually...'

'Okay, let me tell you something, Brad.' Darren said, interrupting the confession. 'I know exactly how you feel, I know that Adam had upset you big time when he did that, but I know that he really regrets what he has done. He has told that to me, you know? He also told me that he never wanted to hurt you like that again and that he wanted you to be the one he wanted to live the rest of his life with. And I can tell when somebody's bullshitting me, and believe me Brad, he was telling the truth. I have noticed he tries nothing more than do his best for you, so I think you should have a little bit more faith in him, he really tries to make you happy. But... if you really want reassure yourself, if you really want to know if something's up with Adam... then I can advice you checking his phone. See if you can find something, if that's what will make you calm, then you should do it.'

Brad didn't say anything for a little moment. Then he slowly nodded. 'Yeah... I will remember that. Thanks, Darren.'

'You're welcome, man.'

'Look, I gotta go right now. Once again, thanks a lot.' The former General Manager of Raw got up from his seat, shook hands with his friend and exited the cafeteria.


	4. Should I Ignore It?

**Chapter 4**

 **Should I Ignore It?**

 **Warning: this chapter contain male on male sexual content.**

Darren's advice had never left Brad's mind, all this time he had kept it in the back of his head for the rest of the night; he just hoped his friend wouldn't tell Adam about his doubts. But the former General Manager of Raw calmed himself with the thought that he probably wouldn't do that, Darren was a great guy, he could trust him.

But Adam... God, he just didn't know.

He wanted to trust him, he really wanted to believe what he had said this morning, but everything was just a complete mess right now. Chaos, yes, that was the right word to describe it. He loved Adam, he loved him with all his heart, but at the same time he wanted to know what was really going on, he wanted to be sure if he could really trust him. It was so contradicting, the suffocating uncertainty made his head feel like exploding, it was almost too much for him.

After he had left the cafeteria, Brad suddenly realized Adam's match must have ended for sure by now. He hurried through the hallways, looking for his boyfriend; the chance that the party animal would suspect him if he wouldn't show up in time was always there. When the former General Manager of Raw was unable to find him, he was almost on the brink of starting to panic. Damn it, what if he had met Darren on his way and got to know everything he had entrusted to him a while ago? Of course that would be the worst case scenario, but Brad had already started to assume that this was already happening. But luckily, those worries were cut short when he saw Adam emerging behind the thick, black curtains that led to the ramp. He looked tired, his hair was a mess and his sweaty, well-shaped body caused locks of his hair to stick against his skin; another match for tonight had been done. But despite his tiredness, Adam managed to curl the corners of his mouth into a smile when he saw his boyfriend. His green eyes expressed the same warmth he had a year ago, it were those eyes that made Brad develop feelings for him; he truly was happy to see his lover.

After Adam took a quick shower and dressed up, the show had ended and the crew were free to go back to the hotel. Brad acted as normal as possible around him and had so far succeeded to hide the doubts that plagued his mind for a full day now. The two men were walking over the parking lot along with the rest of the crew, the screams of dozens of fans who still had the patience to wait for their idols to cheer them on one more time echoed through the night. Brad and Adam reached their car and got inside; tonight it was Adam's turn to drive. As soon as the engine was turned on, rock music blared out of the car's speakers, which made Brad slightly jump; he had forgotten that the music was still pretty loud when they parked at the arena this afternoon. Adam briefly laughed and turned down the volume.

During the trip back to the hotel, Brad barely spoke due to the fact that he just couldn't make that one decision; should he give into his doubts and check Adam's phone... or should he just ignore it? Staring through the window at the outside world passing him by, he was lost in a maze his own mind had created; and it looked like he just couldn't find the exit, no matter how hard he tried. The former General Manager thought about what Darren had said a while ago. He knew like no other how much Adam had hurt him with that one incident with Janelle, but Darren was the kind of guy who believed that at one given time, everything could be forgiven for something. And that's exactly what Brad did; he forgave Adam because he still had some love for him, deep down his heart. His doubts were killing him, which was why he was willing to listen to Darren's advice of checking the party animal's phone in order to calm himself. But then again, this clashed with something else.

The advice of having a bit more faith in Adam.

It was true what Darren said; during this whole year, Adam had done nothing else but trying his absolute best for Brad, to show that he really cared about him and that he was indeed the love of his life. He was the one who offered to pay for their dinners, comforted him when his frustration reached his highest peak and give him love whenever he needed it, he had done everything to repair the trust between them. And maybe, just maybe... it was his paranoia that had been speaking all the time. If there is one thing you should never allow, that would be letting paranoia taking over your mind. Maybe it was just Adam's mother calling after all in the morning, perhaps he had just didn't expect her giving them a call that early. Brad glanced at Adam, who was concentrating on the road with the trademark relaxed smile on his face; he had no idea of what was going through Brad's mind right now.

That's when the former General Manager of Raw finally made up his mind.

Fine.

He was going to try it. He was going to ignore the doubts from now on and have more faith in his boyfriend.

It looked like the exit of the maze had been found at last.

* * *

'Ah... Adam...' Brad moaned as pleasure filled every empty spot in his body.

A few days had passed since Brad decided to ignore his doubts and give Adam a chance and he had to say, things were going pretty well for him now. It felt like a huge weight had fallen off of his shoulders, it felt great. He saw Adam how he had seen him during this whole year; the man he wished to spend the rest of his life with. Tonight the couple had visited a bar, they felt like they had deserved this for being to keep up with the busy schedules of their careers. After a few hours of drinking, they went back to the hotel. When they arrived in their hotel room, Brad planned to go to sleep immediately, but apparently Adam had a whole different idea in mind... Before the former General Manager of Raw could've reacted, the party animal had gently pushed him onto the bed, making sure he would fall on his back before crawling on top of him and capturing his lips in a passionate kiss. Brad didn't hesitate one second to give into the kiss and dipped his tongue into Adam's mouth, brushing the wet muscle against his own tongue. And it didn't last long before the steamy make-out session turned into something much bigger...

After Adam had carefully prepared Brad with the tube of lubricant they always hid in the nightstand wherever they were going, he had slowly pushed his fully erected manhood inside him, trying not to hurt his lover too much. He didn't move for a moment since he wanted Brad to get used to the feeling of being filled; after Brad patted him on the back, he started thrusting his hips in a slow but steady pace, which was already enough for both men to feel the first sparks of nearly mind-numbing pleasure.

'Braddy... do you want me to... ah... go faster?' Adam panted. A thin sheet of sweat had already appeared on the naked bodies of both men, their cheeks were fire red.

'Hmmm... yes, please...' Brad moaned before letting out a shaky cry of pleasure. God, making love with Adam felt so good. Upon hearing his boyfriend's words, Adam began to move his hips in a faster pace. Brad arched his back and let out a wanton cry when he felt his prostate being hit over and over again, making him see a white haze clouding his sight.

The wonderful sight made Adam want to go on more and more. There he was, the love of his life, lying underneath him with his legs spread as much as possible, messy hair, flushed cheeks, closed eyes and sweat covering his forehead. Adam knew that he was the one doing this to him, he was the one who was giving him so much pleasure right now. That made him so happy, you couldn't even imagine. The party animal took a firm hold of Brad's manhood and started pumping it, causing Brad to cry out his lover's name and clench his fists in the sheets, so hard that his knuckles colored white.

The combination of his prostate being pounded on and the strong hand around him completely wrecked his body with pleasure; it wouldn't last long for the former General of Raw was about to reach his highest pleasure point. 'Adam... I can't... hold it...'

Brad let out a strangled cry as he came in the party animal's hand. It only lasted a few seconds before Adam reached his climax as well, grunting when he released inside his lover. A shiver ran through Brad's spine when he felt something hot and thick filling his insides. Both lovers didn't move or say anything for a moment as they sank down to Earth; then Adam slowly pulled out, earning a satisfied sigh from Brad.

The former General Manager of Raw slowly opened his eyes and noticed that Adam was staring right back at him with a small grin on his face.

'Is there something funny?' Brad asked, curling the corners of his mouth into a flirty smile.

'Nah... it's just that you look so damn adorable every time after we had sex.' the party animal replied.

Brad chuckled and pulled his boyfriend in for a kiss on his lips. 'You're such a jerk, Adam. But you're a lovely jerk.'

'I love you too, Braddy.'

After a short moment where they cuddled up together and enjoyed the relaxing aftermath that always followed after each time they made love, the former General Manager of Raw sat up. 'I think I'm gonna get a quick shower before going to bed, it's getting late.'

'Sure, help yourself.'

Brad nodded, got up from the bed, picked up his boxer shorts and walked towards the bedroom, which was just a few footsteps away from the bed. He turned on the light and closed the door behind him. He quickly glanced at his reflection in the mirror and couldn't help but chuckle; his hair was indeed a complete freaking mess. He twisted the knob of the tap; hot water immediately poured out of the showerhead. Brad stepped inside the shower cabin and let the water soak his skin. It was not like he felt dirty or anything, he had just always enjoyed taking a hot shower before going to bed, it helped him to become sleepier and more relaxed. It was indeed a quick shower; it only lasted for a minute or so. Brad turned off the water, got out and grabbed a towel from the rack in order to dry himself off... which was when he heard something.

The former General Manager perked his ears. He heard Adam talking, but it kind of sounded muffled due to the closed door. He frowned his eyebrows in curiosity. What the hell was going on here? While he proceeded to dry himself off, Brad continued to listen to Adam's voice, trying to make up what he was actually saying. Was he talking on his cell phone?

It came back. That damn feeling he had managed to ignore for such a long while came back and attached itself into Brad's belly once more. And this time, it was so strong that it nearly made Brad shiver. He put on his boxer shorts and practically tip-toed towards the door, pressing his ear against the wood in an attempt to hear Adam better... but without avail. The wood was thick, his boyfriend's voice still sounded muffled. Brad knew he should be careful for what he was about to do know. He slowly twisted the door knob and managed to slightly open the door without creating a creaking noise.

'Look, I've gotta go now.' he heard Adam saying. 'Thanks for calling anyway. Bye.'

So he was talking to someone on his cell phone!

Brad opened the door and saw Adam sitting on the edge of the bed, with his cell phone in his hand. He had just ended the call.

'Who were you talking to?' Brad asked.

'Oh, it was just someone from the writer's team.' the party animal calmly replied. 'We were talking about an upcoming storyline, that's all.'

'Right...'

Brad knew that tomorrow they were going to have another show. And this time, he was more than determined to find out what the hell was going on.

Tomorrow night he was going to search for answers.

He would search through Adam's entire cell phone if he had to.


	5. All Hell's Gonna Break Loose

**Chapter 5**

 **All Hell's Gonna Break Loose**

'I'm going to do it.'

That was Brad's first thought when he woke up that morning. His eyes were stinging with tiredness because he had barely slept that night; that feeling in his stomach made it almost impossible for him to get any sleep; turned out it did not only affect his feelings for his boyfriend. Adam had no idea what was actually going on inside his boyfriend's head and unlike him, he had slept through the night like a baby.

The former General Manager of Raw looked to his right and noticed that the party animal was still sleeping, his back facing him and softly snoring. Brad was usually the first one to wake up in the morning; he would often take some time to stare at his boyfriend, appreciating to have such a handsome and loving man like him lying next to him.

But today, he didn't feel like admiring him at all. It was like he was lying next to a complete stranger; it was a man who looked like acted like the man of his dreams, someone he could love and trust, but he was just wearing some sort of mask. What kind of person was Adam Rose really? Did he mistake Brad's loyalty and forgiveness for weakness? Did he enjoy breaking Brad's heart over and over again? Did this relationship even mean anything to him? Or was all of this just an extreme fit of paranoia after all? Brad had the strong feeling he was going to find out all about that this evening. He knew that Adam was having another match tonight, which gave him the perfect opportunity to go through his cell phone. Adam would leave it in his sports bag in the locker room for sure, the only thing he would have to do was to sneak in, get his hands on the phone and finally find out about what the hell Adam was possibly doing behind his back.

Brad got out of the bed as carefully as possible, trying not to wake Adam up. The closed curtains dimmed the sunlight from outside, dimly illuminating the hotel room; Brad guessed it must've been around seven o'clock. He entered the bathroom and turned on the light, immediately squeezing his eyes shut due to the sudden strong light nearly blinding him. There is nothing worse than the bathroom's light in the morning. Brad yawned and stared at his reflection in the mirror. Dear God, he was such a freaking mess right now. His hair really needed to get brushed, a stubbly beard had sported from the skin of his cheeks and his eyes were bloodshot. Dark circles decorated the skin under his eyes. What he needed right now, besides the truth, was a splash of cold water in his face. The former General Manager twisted the knob for the cold water, cupped his hands and let it fill with water. He immediately splashed it into in his face and let out a soft sigh; it felt so good on his skin. Brad glanced at his reflection in the mirror. Thin streams of water trickled down his face, dripping from the tip of his nose and jaw line. The former General Manager of Raw gave himself an encouraging nod.

Tonight, the outcome would seal the future of their relationship. If it turned out is was all just paranoia tricking Brad's mind, he would never listen to that feeling in his guts again and continue his relationship with Adam like nothing happened. But if he would find something... then he wouldn't hesitate to kick Adam out of his life once and for all.

Brad wouldn't hesitate to do that.

* * *

Before Adam headed off to his match, he had kissed Brad on the cheek and told him he loved him, like he usually did, before heading off. Normally Brad would smile from ear to ear whenever he did that, but tonight he didn't feel like smiling at all. This time, when Adam's lips touched his cheek, he felt something that came close to disgust. The former General Manager of Raw had never felt this focused before in his entire life when he was walking through the hallways of the backstage.

People would say that he looked perfectly calm and collected. Truth was, Brad's heart was beating like crazy, for a moment he thought it was going to explode. Everything depended on what he was possibly going to find on Adam's cell phone. The love, the trust, the friendship... it could all vanish in the blink of an eye by the end of this night. Brad thought about anything he and Adam went through during this past year. No matter how stressful their lives on the road were or how frustrated Brad would be due to the fact that he hadn't appeared on live TV for many months, they could've always rely on each other. As long as Adam was on his side, Brad's career in the WWE was far more bearable. He loved him with all his heart, but the chance that his heart, that had been fixed on that one night where he forgave Adam for what he had done, could shatter into thousands once again on this night.

The former General Manager of Raw saw the door of the men's locker room in the distance, it was on his left; he was only a few steps away from unraveling the truth. When he reached it at last, he swore he had never felt his heart pounding this fast before. Standing in front of the locker room, Brad hesitated for a split second. Was he doing the right thing now? If he would find nothing on Adam's cell phone, it would mean he had blatantly given into his paranoia and distrusted Adam for nothing. But at least it would calm himself, just like Darren said.

Brad took a deep breath and slowly breathed out. He had prepared himself for this for the whole day, he wasn't going to back down now.

He had to find out the truth.

Brad firmly grabbed the door handle, opened the door and entered the locker room, closing the door behind him. The locker room was completely empty, there wasn't even someone in the showers. Good, Brad preferred it liked this; nobody who would bother him during his search. His eyes scanned the locker room, searching for Adam's belongings. Some benches had various pieces of clothing strewn all over them, proof that some of the wrestlers weren't tidy people at all. Brad spotted Adam's spot in the far back of the locker room; his sports bag had to be other there, there was no way in hell it could be anywhere else! Brad walked towards Adam's spot, hoping that this was true.

Adam's black sports back was lying right there; bingo!

Brad knew that there was no turning back now, he was this close! He knelt down and zipped open the sports bag. Now, where could that phone possibly be? With his hand the former General Manager of Raw dug through the clothes his boyfriend had worn earlier this day, which he had now stuffed inside this sports bag for the night. For a little moment he didn't feel anything else but the material of the clothes, but then his fingertips touched something else. It was something that was made out of plastic. Brad's heart jumped a beat; that had to be the phone! He wrapped his fingers around the rectangular-shaped object and retrieved it from the bag. And lo and behold, it was the goddamn phone.

This was it.

Now he was finally going to find out the truth.

Brad pressed the tiny button on the side of the phone and the screen immediately displayed three vertical rows of four white dots. Unfortunately for Adam, Brad could easily guess what the password was, he had seen him entering it many times whenever he wanted to check his phone. Brad drew with his index finger an m-shaped symbol over the screen, connecting the dots. Immediately after the line connected with the last dot, the home screen of the phone appeared. Gotcha. Now... where to start? Brad bit his lower lip and thought about it. Should he check the photos or the messages first? Who knows what kind of photos Adam could've hidden on this device... But Brad decided to dig through the messages first.

He pressed the icon for the messages and a whole list of contacts his boyfriend had texted appeared. The former General Manager read every name one by name, looking if he could spot a name he had never heard of. There were names of the rosebuds, fellow wrestlers, Divas and other crew members; Brad knew them all. He went through every contact and read every text, but there was nothing out of the ordinary if you asked him. Most of the texts were normal, friendly or joking texts, they weren't flirty, suspicious or anything at all. As Brad continued to read the messages, he actually felt himself becoming calmer. Darren was right; this was the right thing to do, this was exactly what he needed to get rid of the distrust. Along with the calmness, Brad felt a certain relief. So Adam had been loyal to him after all... This brought a small smile on Brad's face; it was the first time this day that he had smiled. Adam had learned from that incident, he was a changed man, he did truly love him... Brad felt a warm sensation filling his abdomen, driving the unpleasant feeling that had been bothering him for the whole day away.

But that warm feeling was promptly cut short when the former General Manager of Raw saw a name that he had never heard of before.

Emily.

Brad frowned in confusion.

Who the fuck is Emily? He couldn't remember a rosebud or crew member with that name... He decided to check these messages as well.

As Brad's eyes scanned over the words, he could feel his stomach sinking to his feet and his blood draining away from his face.

 _'Why did you cut off that call all of the sudden?'_

 _'Braddy got out of the bathroom, sorry about that. Didn't want him to find out about it just yet. Maybe it's better if we text for now.'_

 _'Ah, okay, I understand. Do you think we can meet when you get home next week?'_

 _'I'll try. I'll come up with something to make him stay at home.'_

 _'Alright, good luck with that.'_

 _'Don't worry about it, I think Braddy will believe me.'_

 _'Okay. But Brad doesn't know anything about this, right?'_

 _'No, he doesn't know a thing, don't worry.'_

 _'Would be a total shame if he would, LOL!'_

Brad's hand was shaking uncontrollably. A high ringing noise filled every spot in his head, deafening him for any other sound. Dark spots clouded his sight, slowly turning red. He couldn't produce a single sound. His heart was shredded into millions of pieces. All the love and trust were smashed into pieces, like a brick striking a window. The world had ceased to exist around Brad Maddox.

He had done it.

He had fucking done it again.

Brad thought he was going to vomit, but the sickness was immediately replaced with the same emotion he had felt on that one awful night a year ago.

Rage.

Burning rage.

But this rage was far more intense than the rage he had felt back then. It was burning with the flames of Hell itself, Brad thought he about to faint, he was that angry. Adam... That bastard... That fucking bastard!

'Braddy?'

The former General Manager of Raw recognized that voice like no other. With his eyes practically burning with anger, he looked over his shoulder. The sight only added fuel to the fire. The man who had crushed his heart underneath his foot was standing in the door opening, completely surprised by the sight.

'What are you doing here?' Adam asked. 'I couldn't find you anywhe-'

'You fucking son of a bitch!' Brad furiously shouted at the top of his lungs, the volume of his voice was enough to make his voice echo through the entire locker room. This visibly startled Adam, he had never seen his boyfriend like this before.

'Wait, what? Braddy, what the hell are talking about?'

'You know goddamn well what I'm talking about!' Brad shouted. 'I know you have been hooking up with some slut again, Adam! Did you really think I wouldn't fucking find out?!'

'Wha...' Adam shook his head and blinked his eyes in confusion. 'Braddy, I have no idea what you're talking about!' The party animal approached the enraged man. 'Have you been looking through my stuff? Wait, is that my phone you're holding there?!' Once he reached his boyfriend, he reached out his arm to grab his phone. 'Come on, if that ba-'

As if he was stung by a wasp, Brad jumped up and pushed Adam away from him with all the strength he had, causing the party animal to lose his balance and fall to the ground with a painful thud. 'Don't you dare to fucking touch me!' Brad shouted. Tears of anger filled his eyes, so hot that they were almost burning. 'Why, Adam?! Why?! What have I ever done to you to ever deserve this?! After everything we went through! I thought we had something, you fucking bastard! For a whole fucking year I have done everything for you, I have given you all the love I had and yet you still had to go and cheat on my ass behind my back! Are you fucking kidding me?! How could you do this to me, Adam?!'

The party animal stared at his boyfriend in pure disbelief. 'What?!' he exclaimed. 'I have never cheated on you, I-'

'Don't you lie to me!' Brad threw Adam's phone at his chest. 'I have read every single text you and Emily have traded! Who is that slut anyway?! Where did you get to know her?!'

'Emily?!' Adam exclaimed. 'Wait, no! Braddy, it isn't what it looks like, I swear!'

'Like I haven't heard that before, you fucking liar! You know what, Adam? You can keep that bitch for all I care! We are done, it's over! I never, ever, want to see you again, you hear me?!'

Brad walked past Adam, leaving him lying on the floor, completely confused and heartbroken.

'Once a slut, always a slut.' Brad bitterly hissed before exiting the locker room.


	6. Just In The Nick Of Time

**Chapter 6**

 **Just In The Nick Of Time**

When Brad exited the locker room, he had noticed that Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods, the New Day, had gathered outside to see what all the ruckus was about; there was no doubt that they had heard Brad's infuriated voice all the way from the freaking curtains.

'Brad! Bro, what's the matter?' Kofi asked. 'Is everything alri-'

'Get away from me!' the former General Manager shouted angrily, causing the New Day to back off with a shocked look on all three faces; they had never seen Brad this furious before. He dashed off past the stable, he was too infuriated to wish to be comforted; nothing could soothe his broken heart at this moment.

Brad wanted to get away. He wanted to get away from it all. He wanted to get away from his failure of a relationship with Adam, his career in the WWE, just everything. Brad headed towards the exit of the arena, he didn't give a flying fuck if the show hadn't ended yet, if he would leave now Vince would know about this for sure and would make sure Brad would suffer the consequences, but Brad had stopped caring altogether. If he was going to get fired because of this, it didn't matter; he was planning to leave the WWE anyway. Nothing mattered to him anymore, he wished to leave the world of wrestling behind him once and for all. Not only did he waste his life on chasing a childhood dream that would've never come true either way, he had also wasted a year dating a two-faced son of a bitch who couldn't help himself but fuck every woman behind his boyfriend's back. The hot tears of anger had spilled over Brad's eyelids and trickled down his face as he got closer and closer to the exit. Some wrestlers who had seen him passing by had tried to ask him what was wrong, but Brad was completely deaf for their questions and plainly ignored them.

It was not only Adam who was dead to him.

The cold wind that rolled through the night outside didn't do anything to cool Brad's anger... or heal his broken heart either. Inside the arena he hadn't said a single word to anyone whenever asked what was bothering him, but now that he was all alone here, the former General Manager of Raw allowed himself to let out a heartbroken sob. More tears flowed down his face as he started to sob uncontrollably.

'Fuck...' Brad groaned. Goddamn it, he couldn't fucking believe it. He felt like such a moron for forgiving Adam, it had to be the biggest mistake he had ever made in his entire life... next to dating that bastard in the first place. He should've never believed him when he told him that he regretted kissing Janelle, he should've kicked him out of the hotel room and left the WWE the very next day; if he had done that, he would've been spared from all this pain. Sluts knew no regret, Brad realized. And that's what Adam exactly was... nothing more but a goddamn man slut.

The parking lot for the crew was right next to the arena, Brad just had to walk a little bit more and he would be able to watch his mistakes disappear out of his sight in the rear-view mirror of his car. As the former General Manager walked towards the parking lot, hundreds of thoughts raced through his mind. Adam's stuff was still in their hotel room, but there was no way in hell he was going to give them back to that son of a bitch. No, that wasn't the right thing to do. Brad planned to grab all of Adam's clothes and other belongings, put them on a pile on the balcony and set it on fire; he couldn't imagine a better way to get rid of them.

Brad could already see his car in the distance, just a few meters and he would escape from all of this. He was just a few steps away from leaving this life behind him...

'Uh... excuse me...?' a soft female voice suddenly asked.

Brad almost didn't hear it, it sounded that soft. He looked behind him. The voice belonged to a young girl, who must have been lurking in the shadows of the parking lot to show up behind him like this. The former General Manager guessed she must've been in her late teens or early twenties and if you asked him, she didn't really look that... healthy. Physically like and possibly mentally like. Her shoulder-length dirty blonde hair probably hadn't been washed in weeks, dark circles darkened the area underneath her dull grey eyes, her mouth was curled into a small, strange smile, her skin looked like she hadn't been outside in the sun for ages and her she was almost sickeningly skinny. The girl was wearing a green John Cena shirt with a visible stain on it and a pair of ripped jeans. Her shoes looked like she had been wearing them for many years, they looked so worn-out. Normally this would send all alarm bells ringing inside Brad's head, but at this moment, he didn't think too much of it; all he wanted now was to get back to the hotel as fast as possible.

'You're... Brad Maddox...' the girl said practically whispered. There was no emotion in her voice whatsoever.

'Yeah, I am.' Brad replied pettishly; he was not in the mood for a conversation. He searched his pocket to look for his car key.

'It really is you...!' the girl said, her voice becoming slightly louder. The former General Manager of Raw hinted a bit more emotion. It looked like a little twinkle appeared in her lifeless eyes. 'Oh my God! I... I have been waiting for this day my entire life! M-my name is Lindsay!'

Brad retrieved the car key from his pocket. 'Good for you.' He pressed the button of the key and the car produced a brief beeping noise, signaling that it had been unlocked. Lindsay seemed to understand that her favorite wrestler wasn't in the mood to talk to her... but she refused to give up.

'Wait, you can't leave just yet!' she exclaimed. 'You don't understand, I'm your biggest fan! I know everything about you! I know what your favorite football club is, your favorite color, your favorite food, the birth date of Adam...'

Hearing her mentioning the man who had broken his heart only pissed Brad off more. 'Look, I don't have time to talk to you, okay?!' he practically snapped. 'And I am not in the mood for it either! Go find some other wrestler to fangirl over! Goodnight!'

He turned around and in three steps, he had finally reached his car. Brad was about to open the door on the driver's side when he heard a soft click. At first it didn't really bother him that much... until he felt something hard and cold touching the back of his head.

What the hell?

Brad turned around to see what was poking him... only to stare right into the muzzle of a pistol.

Lindsay pointed the pistol right at his face, the hand she was holding the gun with was slightly trembling, as if this was the first time she had ever threatened someone with a firearm. Her eyes had turned dark with anger, the smile had disappeared of her face and was replaced with a sinister grimace. Brad could feel his stomach dropping to his feet. He wanted to smack the pistol out of her hand, punch her on the nose, run away, he wanted to do it all, but he couldn't; it felt like his limbs were completely frozen. She was insane, he immediately realized as his eyes widened with horror. This bitch is fucking insane and she was about to kill him.

'Don't you dare to walk away from me, you bastard...' Lindsay hissed, followed by a strange chuckle. 'I have been waiting for you for so long and now that we are finally together alone, you reject me... Your biggest fan... How dare you... How fucking dare you!' She screamed those last words in sheer anger.

'L-look, Lindsay... put the gun down...' Brad tried to control the trembling in his voice, attempting to calm her down. 'Nobody has to get hurt here...'

'But you already did, Brad... you have already hurt me with your words!'

This was it.

He was going to die.

Right here on a parking lot by the hands of some goddamn crazed fan. Brad could feel it in his bones.

Just as he expected her to fire the bullet into his face, Brad heard rapid footsteps and in the blink of an eye, his assailant was tackled to the ground, immediately followed by a pained grunt.

'Stay away from him!'

Adam had tackled the insane fan to the ground and was now pinning her down with all the strength he had. During the impact, he had knocked the pistol straight out of her hand; it was lying just out of her reach. Lindsay tried to struggle free, but she was no match for Adam's strength.

'Hey, get over here!' Adam shouted at somebody in the distance. 'Give me a little hand here!'

Almost immediately, two security guards rushed towards the scene as fast as they could, gesturing the party animal to get off the 'fan', firmly grabbing her when they pulled her up to her feet. 'Get your hands off of me!' Lindsay screamed hysterically. 'I will kill you, I will kill you all, you hear me?! I will cut your throats from ear to ear!'

'Get her out of here, now! I will take care of Braddy.' Adam said calmly. The guards nodded and dragged Lindsay away, who continued to scream death threats and profanity.

Adam watched until they had entered the arena. The cops were going to take care of this; he hoped the crazy bitch would spend the rest of her life behind bars. He turned around, facing his boyfriend. The sight almost made his heart cringe; all the blood had drained away from Brad's face, he was practically trembling all over his body.

'Braddy... are you alright?' he carefully asked.

The former General Manager blinked his eyes a couple of times and tried to say something, but he was unable to. He had stared right into the face of Death... and it was the man who had broken his heart who saved his life. He couldn't believe, this was too surreal to believe.

'A...dam...' he managed to croak out. It felt like his legs had given up on him, they went completely numb in an instant. Brad let himself fall on his knees, his body started trembling more violently as he softly whimpered incoherently. Adam knelt down and cradled his terrified boyfriend in his arms, gently caressing him on his back. 'Ssssh, it's okay now...' he soothingly whispered. Tears welled up in the corners of his emerald green eyes. Oh God, if he hadn't gone after him, if he hadn't reached him time... he just didn't want to think about it. The party animal would've never forgiven himself if Brad was hurt, or even worse: dead.

'She's gone, she can't hurt you anymore. I'm here now, I will protect you...'

Brad squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his fists in Adam's leather jacket as a loud sob escaped from his throat. He buried his face against the party animal's shoulder. Adam continued to caress his back and occasionally ran his fingers through his hair, trying his best to calm the love of his life down.

'Why did you come after me?' Brad murmured, sounding almost as bitter as he did back in the locker room.

'What?' Adam asked. Why would he ask something like that?

'Why would you come after me?' Brad repeated, looking Adam straight in the eyes. He saw the emerald eyes he had once fallen in love with... but right now he didn't feel a thing for them. 'You don't care about me anymore, you only love that Emily girl.'

'Have you lost your freaking mind?' the party animal replied indignantly. 'I don't love her, I never loved her!'

'I've read those texts, Adam. Don't-'

'For fuck's sake, just listen to me for once!' Adam suddenly shouted. Brad blinked his eyes in surprise; he had never heard him speaking like this. 'Why, Braddy?! What reason would I have to give up on us?! I fucking love you more than anything, why can't you see that! I know I have made a huge mistake that night and I swore I would never hurt you like that again, so why would I start a damn affair?! Emily is an old friend of mine, there is nothing going on between us, there never was and there never will be! You are the only one for me, Braddy!'

It was completely quiet on the parking lot. Brad stared at Adam, completely speechless; he searched for words to say, but couldn't find any. It was impossible.

'Don't you see?' Adam said, this time more calmer. 'It was all a misunderstanding. The reason why we were talking in secret was because... she was helping me with preparing something. For you.'

'Pre... preparing?' Brad managed to say. 'Preparing what?'

Despite everything that had happened, Adam managed to make a small smile and chuckle. 'If I would tell you, the surprise won't be that exciting anymore.' But in the blink of an eye, the smile disappeared. 'Look... I understand that because of the way I acted lately have made you... suspicious of me, to say the least. I'm sorry for that, but it was the only way. And I'm sorry that I made you feel hurt because of this, but please remember, Braddy... You are the only one for me. All those girls out there, they can drop dead for all I care. I love you, Braddy. And I always will love you.'

It all suddenly made sense for the former General Manager of Raw; all the pieces of the puzzle fell together. It was the paranoia speaking when he read those texts, it warped something that was so friendly of nature into deceivingly flirty. It was all a misunderstanding, Brad realized. There had never been an affair. Adam had never been cheating on him.

The realization struck him like the punch of a boxer, almost rendering him speechless once again.

'Adam... is that true?'

'It's the truth and only that. I promise.'

Inside Brad's head, a mental war was raging. One side calmly told him to believe Adam and rekindle their relationship for the second time, the other side shouted at him to not believe a word he was saying and walk away from all of this. The choice was up for Brad to make. Staring at Adam's face, the former General Manager slowly felt the love he thought had died a painful death this night creeping up again. Emerald green met baby blue. Slowly the image of the man Brad loved so dearly replaced that of the heartbreaker.

Brad believed him.

He believed every word the party animal said.

'Oh God...' he whispered. 'Adam... I'm so sorry...'

'It's okay, Braddy.' Adam pressed a gentle kiss on the former General Manager's forehead. 'It's all okay.'

'Sorry for pushing you back there... I freaking lost it at that moment. Did I hurt you?'

'Don't worry about that. I have suffered worse in the ring.'

Brad chuckled and wrapped his arms around Adam's waist, pulling him in for a warm, loving hug.

Once again, the lovers had reunited.


	7. Say That One Word

**Chapter 7**

 **Say That One Word**

It relieved Adam to see Brad had finally managed to mentally recover from his horrifying ideal at the parking lot.

A week had passed since he had saved his boyfriend's life and had rekindled their relationship for the second time; Adam had made a habit of being grateful for each day he was able to hold the love of his life in his arms. It had later turned out that the crazy fangirl (honestly, some people shouldn't have the freaking right to call themselves a fan) had stalked multiple other wrestlers and Divas on Twitter, bombarding them with her undying love for her 'idols', pretty bad fanart, creepy messages, asking if they could help her becoming a Diva and often almost drowning the profiles with hysterical death threats if the wrestler or Diva wouldn't reply. Every wrestler or Diva with the right mind immediately blocked that crazy bitch, but it looked like she had decided to take her obsession with the WWE a step further by nearly killing an employee. Adam hoped they would lock her up in the loony bin for the rest of her life.

It was evident that the horrifying event had haunted Brad mercilessly throughout the entire week during his recovery. The former General Manager straight-out refused to walk through a parking lot at night unless he was accompanied by his boyfriend. Whenever the crew left the arena after a show had ended, it was obvious that the wrestlers and Divas would be awaited by a horde of devoted fans; an absolute torture for Brad at that time. Adam could see that he feared the fangirl that had nearly killed him would show up in the crowd and aim the pistol at his face again, only this time to successfully pull the trigger. Or even worse; the killer could be someone who could be talked into this by her, to do the dirty work for her while she was still held into custody. Adam watched as Brad looked around him, expecting a gun to be aimed at him at any moment, but luckily the party animal knew exactly what to do in order to calm him down. He would gently squeeze his boyfriend's hand, the calming effect almost immediately made him less paranoid. Brad would give the party animal a small smile whenever he did this; he appreciated him helping him, it made him feel a bit more safe.

But even outside the ring, Brad found it hard to feel safe.

It's almost impossible for a wrestler or Diva from the WWE to not be recognized in public. So most of the time when Brad and Adam were out to have lunch or to drink something in a club, the chance that they would be approached by people who would recognize them; just seeing a young woman approaching them to ask them to get an autograph or a selfie was enough for the former General Manager of Raw to make his heart skip a beat. But there was one thing for sure... as long as Adam was on his side, nobody would harm him. This alone made Brad love him even more. Adam was always there to support him, day and night. Literally, because let's not forget about the nightmares the former General Manager of Raw had on most nights during the week. In those nightmares it was happening all over again, but Adam was never in time to save him again. The nightmare always ended when that crazy bitch Lindsay pulled the trigger, putting a bullet through Brad's brains, killing him. Brad would sit up in bed with his heart beating in his throat, practically bathing in his own sweat and convinced that she was here in the hotel room. Adam would hug the former General Manager of Raw until he fell asleep, which would often last for hours.

But now that a week had passed since the incident, Adam had the feeling that his boyfriend had completed the long way to his recovery. It was tough, but he had finally made it. He noticed that he acted more calmer whenever they were approached by a fan, he was a lot more relaxed whenever the crew was greeted with a crowd of fans whenever they exited an arena, as if he was slowly regaining his trust in the fandom of the WWE. Adam was so proud of his boyfriend.

And it looked like things were going to get even better.

Everyone knows that the wrestlers and Divas can almost never go home due to their busy schedule, but this time the couple finally had time to go home. The house they had moved into together during this year was the kind of house everyone would dream off; it was a nice big house that was located near the beach, something which Brad and Adam loved to go to on sunny days. This morning, Adam was woken up by the sound of his cell phone receiving a text. Letting out a soft groan, the party animal carefully sat up, trying not to wake up his boyfriend who was still sleeping. Adam couldn't help but glance at Brad. He smiled from ear to ear; the former General Manager was a sleeping beauty alright. Adam grabbed his cell phone and saw on the screen that he had indeed received a text.

A text from Emily.

 _'Wakey wakey! I have received it! :)'_

Oh dear God, finally! Adam knew that this text was enough to make his day; nothing could ruin it anymore.

Today, Brad was finally going to see what the whole thing with Emily was all about.

 _'Awesome! I will pick it up around ten o'clock. Thanks for everything, Emily, I owe you one!'_

* * *

'So... what was the reason again you wanted us to go the beach, Adam?' Brad asked curiously.

'I already told you, silly beans!' the party animal replied with a grin on his face. 'You will see, you're going to love it!'

Today was the perfect day to visit the beach. The sun was shining bright, there wasn't a single cloud in the sky and a small flock of seagulls soared above the beach in order to find something edible to snatch. Some people had decided to take advantage of this day as well, taking a plunge in the cold sea or tanning their bodies in the sun. A toddler was building a sand castle while her mother watched her from a little distance.

Brad had no freaking idea about what was going on and he was more than eager to know.

It all started when Adam woke him up with something, asking him to go to the beach with him after breakfast. So far he didn't think anything suspicious of it; the weather forecast had predicted that it was going to be a hot day today, so it was logical that someone would go to the beach. Plus, this was one of the very rare free days they could get, so why the hell not, he thought. They had breakfast shortly after they got out of bed (seriously, Adam could cook bacon and eggs like nobody else) and after they both dressed up, they got inside the car and drove away.

However, Adam wasn't planning to go to the beach right away. Without telling Brad about this, he took a turn to the right and stopped the car near a jewelry store. When Brad questioned him about this, the party animal replied with a reassuring smile that he just had to pick something up and that he would be back in a minute before giving him a quick kiss on the cheek and leaving the car. Brad watched Adam entering the jewelry store, wondering why he would possibly go in there. Through the shop window, which was decorated with the golden, graceful letter font that spelled out the name of the store, the former General Manager could see his boyfriend talking to a young woman with short red hair, who standing behind the counter. She smiled and nodded a couple of times, then she walked to the back of the store and came back a few moments later, handing over something small to Adam. Brad couldn't exactly see what it was. He saw Adam giving the woman a firm handshake, turning around and leaving the jewelry store. He got back inside the car and the couple drove straight to the beach.

Now that Brad thought about it... was the visit to the jewelry store all part of the surprise?

While they were holding hands, the couple walked over the beach, enjoying the sun and the smell of seawater. There was no need to rush the romantic walk; today, they had all the time in the world.

'Hey, Braddy... how are you actually holding up?' Adam asked. 'Is it still bothering you?'

The former General Manager of Raw knew exactly what he was talking about. He stared at the sand, thinking about the answer. 'Well... you could say that the worst part is over, I guess. God, Adam... I don't think I have ever been that scared in my entire life.'

Adam briefly nodded. 'Yeah, I sure as hell can believe that.' To this day, he was still so damn glad that he had managed to save Brad in the nick of time.

'Can I ask you something, Adam?'

'Sure, what is it?'

'How long do you know Emily? I mean, I had never heard of her before until I read your texts with her that night.'

'Well... I got to know Emily after I moved to the U.S.A when WWE decided to sign me. She too wanted to become a professional wrestler, but at the last moment she decided to abandon that goal and start a business for her own. As time went on, we kinda grew apart... but when I needed help with the surprise for you, she was the first person I thought of. And I have to say, she was a really great help.'

'So that's why... damn, now I understand.'

Gently squeezing his boyfriend's hand, Adam couldn't help but look at the former General Manager of Raw. This man right here was the love of his life, the man he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. He was absolutely sure of it. The party animal had thought a lot about this, for many months, but he was ready to make that one big step. He loved Brad with all his heart and he wanted him to stay on his side forever.

This was the perfect time to ask him the most important question he would ever ask.

'Say, Braddy... I didn't manage the kind of business Emily started on her own, right?'

Brad shook his head. 'No, you didn't. Why?'

'Well, I should mention that... Emily owns that jewelry store we went to a while ago.'

Brad blinked his baby blue eyes in surprise. 'Wait, hold on... so she was that girl who was standing behind that counter?'

The party animal smiled and nodded. 'Yup, you got that right, Braddy!' he cheerfully exclaimed.

This was it. The perfect moment.

Adam let go of Brad's hand, walked in front of him, faced him for a second and went down on one knee. He would never forget the look on his boyfriend's face; his eyes widened with surprise as he slightly dropped his jaw. Smiling from ear to ear, Adam stared at him with a loving look in his eyes.

'Brad Maddox...' the party animal softly spoke. 'From the very first moment I laid eyes on you, I fell in love with you. You are the most beautiful and loving man in the whole world, and I am so blessed with you. I love you more than anything else. I know I have messed up many times, but know this... you are the greatest thing that has ever happened to me and I wouldn't do anything to hurt you or break your heart. I want you to stay in my life forever, so that's why I'm asking you, Brad Maddox...' Adam put his hand in the pocket of his jeans and retrieved a small, dark blue, velvet box. Opening it, the party animal received a beautiful golden ring. 'Will you marry me?'

Complete silence.

Brad stared at Adam, completely speechless. Adam was still staring at him, full with hope. But then, he saw something he hadn't expected to see. Brad's eyes, those baby blue eyes he loved so much, slowly filled with tears.

'I... I'm sorry, Adam...'

In a split second, Adam could feel his stomach dropping to his feet. Oh my God... was he going to reject his proposal? After everything they went through together?!

'I'm so sorry...' Brad said as the tears rolled over his cheeks. 'I feel so ashamed for not trusting you in the past. All this time I thought you were having an affair while you were actually preparing to do this. I should have had more faith in you. I can never forgive myself for thinking this way about you, but I hope you can forgive me. Adam... you have opened my eyes. You have changed my life forever. You have always been there for me, you are the reason why I decided to stay with the WWE. If I had left, you would've disappeared out of my life for sure... and I don't think I could ever live with that. Hell, I don't think I could live without you. You are everything to me, my entire world. So...' Brad smiled from ear to ear. 'Yes. I do want to marry you.'

This day had just become the best day of Adam's life.

The love of his life had said yes.

He pulled the ring out of the black foam it was put into and carefully slid it onto the ring finger of Brad's right hand, sealing the engagement. The party animal got back up on his feet and immediately pulled his fiancé in for a loving hug, locking lips with him the very next second. Brad wrapped his arms around Adam's neck, deepening the kiss.

He was more than willing to spend the rest of his life with this wonderful man.


	8. Sunshine And Stinging White

**Chapter 8**

 **Sunshine And Stinging White**

Finally, after two full months of planning and organizing, the day that everyone had been waiting for was about to arrive.

Tomorrow was going to be the day where Brad Maddox and Adam Rose were going to get married.

Almost immediately after the couple had tweeted about the engagement, dozens of tweets of supportive fans followed, congratulating them and wishing them the best in their future. But the tweets that had to be the most hilarious were the ones from the haters; some hoped the couple would divorce within a month or that their car would drive off a cliff on their honeymoon, killing them instantly. Honestly, it was actually quite hilarious to see people putting so much energy in hating on them.

Of course preparations had to be made for the wedding, it was the only thing Brad and Adam worked on whenever they had free time. But even if they had their hands full on their busy schedule, they tried to work on the preparations as much as possible, even making phone calls here and there in their hotel room after a show had ended. What kind of flowers had to be in the bouquet and the altar, who had to be invited, what shade of white could be used for their tuxedos? Brad had never thought making preparations for an upcoming wedding would just be as stressful as their career in the WWE. But luckily, he had a great help on his side; Adam.

He was looking forward to the wedding just as much as he did, because after all, he was willing to leave his life full of partying behind him to spend the rest of his life with the love of his life. Of course their colleagues knew about the upcoming marriage; on the day after Brad and Adam announced their engagement on Twitter, they received nothing more but support from them. Natalya even offered them to help with the preparations; she knew like no other how stressful it was to take care of all of that while living your life on the road. It was a kind offer, but Brad and Adam had politely declined. They could do this, they were able to handle it.

But now, after two long months, the big day was just peeking around the corner.

Vince granted the couple two weeks off from work so they could go have their wedding and have some free time with each other afterwards. Brad could barely sleep that night before the day he and his fiancé would never forget, it was just so surreal to believe it... He and Adam were going to get married. He couldn't find any words to describe about how he was feeling right now; it was a mix of disbelief and happiness, it was so hard to describe it. Staring at his sleeping fiancé, the former General Manager of Raw couldn't help but smile. This night, he was still Brad Maddox, but tomorrow, by this time, he would be Brad Rose. He would've thought... a year ago, he couldn't stand being around Adam, all because of the conflicting feelings he had for him back then. But now, they were just a day away from getting married. Life can be so strange sometimes, really.

Closing his eyes, Brad hoped he would fall asleep soon enough; the sooner that big day came, the better.

* * *

A gentle breeze rolled across the beach, taking along the smell of fresh seawater and some sands with it, but it nothing to ruin the wedding day.

The sun was shining bright in the clear blue sky, it felt like the whole world was smiling for the couple this day. The wedding was taking place at the same beach where Adam proposed to Brad; the party animal was convinced that every time the couple would have a walk here, they would always remember what wonderful moments had occurred here. Standing near the altar that was decorated with white roses, Adam was eagerly waiting for his soon-to-be husband to arrive. Looking around him, he was sure Brad would love how everything had turned out in the end; there were ten rows of ten white chairs, five on the left, five on the right, each of them were occupied by the guest who attended this day to see the couple being joined for the rest of their lives. Most of the guests were fellow wrestlers and Divas the party animal and Brad were close to, Cesaro and Natalya were one them... accompanied by a camera crew. Because just like any daily occurrence of a Diva who just happened to star in 'Total Divas', this wedding had to be shown in an episode as well. But it didn't bother Adam at all, on the contrary even; everyone had the right to witness the greatest day of his life! A red carpet was rolled out all the way from the road to the altar, separating the sections of chairs and sparing his soon-to-be husband the sand that could possibly enter his shoes. But what really amused Adam was that some old friends of him were able to make it to the wedding as well.

The rosebuds.

Each of them donned the craziest party outfit they could find and occupied the back row of the seats on the left, chatting and laughing as they waited for the groom to arrive. It was great to see them again, even if it was just for this one day. There were also a couple of other people that were special to the party animal; his parents, who had traveled all the way from South Africa to see their son marrying the love of his life. It meant to much to Adam to see his parents again, you couldn't even imagine. He and his parents had a rocky relationship in the past, but today, it all seemed to disappear on the background. Brad's parents were there as well, Adam could swear he saw tears of happiness welling up the eyes of Brad's mother before the ceremony had even started; his fiancé had once told him about how emotional she could be, turned out he didn't get his emotional side from a stranger. And there was also another special person who was attending the wedding today. The person who had helped him to make it all possible.

Emily. Along with her girlfriend. Adam owed her one, big time.

Suddenly, a black limousine stopped in front of the beach, the passenger door perfectly lining up in front of the red carpet. The door opened; the sight nearly made Adam's heart feel like exploding.

There he was, the love of his life. Brad got out of the car, smiling from ear to ear when he spotted his fiancé waiting at the altar for him. He was wearing the same white tuxedo he did, the shade of white was almost enough to make one's eyes hurt. A white rose was attached on the jacket of the tuxedo. The former General Manager of Raw was holding a bouquet of white roses. As soon as he got out of the car, 'Bed of Roses' from Bon Jovi was heard from the speakers that were attached to the white pillars next to the lines of chairs. It was perfectly, absolutely perfect. Brad slowly walked over the red carpet, heading towards his fiancé. Adam knew his heart must be pounding like crazy right now, he knew how Brad was. As he watched the love of his life coming closer and closer to him, the emerald green eyes of the party animal's almost filled up with tears. God, he was so beautiful, so adorable... he had waited so long for this moment.

Brad was now standing next to him, their eyes immediately making contact. Once again, baby blue met emerald green, but this time, it was more special than ever. The music abruptly stopped playing. Everyone fell silent, even the rosebuds.

'Friends... family... rosebuds.' the priest spoke. 'We are gathered here today to see these two men, Adam Rose and Brad Maddox, being joined together forever. Their love for each other is strong enough for them to make this decision, and let us hope this love will remain strong during the rest of their lives. Now, Adam... you can make your vow.'

The party animal held the former General Manager's hands, gently squeezing them. He looked him straight in the eyes and smiled from ear to ear. 'Braddy...' Adam softly spoke. 'From the very first day I saw you, I fell in love with you. I have never said this, but I'm the kind of person who believes in love at the first sight. And that's what exactly happened when I saw you in the hallways backstage, Braddy. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, you have changed me in so many ways. You have helped me becoming a better person and learned me how to love somebody with everything you have. I love you, Braddy... and I will always will, no matter what.'

Dear God, he thought he was going to cry right on this spot. Brad slightly bit on his lower lip, trying to fight back the tears.

'Brad... it's your turn to make your vow.'

The former General Manager of Raw nodded. He had failed to hold back his tears as they now spilled over his lower eyelids, trickling down his cheeks. But these weren't tears of sadness; they were tears of nothing more but happiness.

'Adam... Despite everything we went through, all the ups and all the downs, I still believe to this very day you are the love of my life and you will be the only person I will ever truly love. You have made my life so much better in ways you can't even imagine. You have always been there for me. You have changed my life forever. You are my friend, my loyal companion I can rely on... you are my entire world. I love you, Adam Rose.'

The priest smiled and nodded; these heartfelt vows would touch anyone's heart. 'Very well. Bunny, you can bring the rings now.'

The Bunny, possibly the most well-known member of the rosebuds, emerged from the back, holding a small, white pillow with two golden rings resting on top of it. Brad couldn't help but softly chuckle. He had never expected a freaking bunny to bring him the rings on the day almost every person would dream off. Bunny held the pillow in front of them, the golden metal of the rings shined brightly in the sun.

'You may exchange the rings now.' the priest said. Adam took one of the rings and carefully slid it onto Brad's other ring finger. Brad did the same, his hand slightly trembling when he put the ring around Adam's finger. He had the feeling he was floating, he was that happy.

'I now declare you husband and husband! You may kiss the groom.'

Both Adam and Brad would remember those words for as long as they lived. Immediately upon sharing the kiss that would forever seal their marriage, the guests started clapping and cheering. The rosebuds loudly chanted their ringleader's theme song at the top of their lungs.

This was without a doubt the most beautiful day of Brad's and Adam's lives.


	9. It's Just You And I

**Chapter 9**

 **It's Just You And I**

 **Warning: this chapter contains male on male sexual content.**

That night at the bar where the reception was taking place, Brad got to see the Adam he got to know a year ago. It was like they had boarded the good old Exotic Express once again; rock music blared out of the speakers, most of the guests were jumping up and down on the dance floor, singing along with the lyrics of the music and now and then a beer bottle shattered to pieces onto the floor, requiring to be taken care of as quickly as possible before someone would step onto the sharp pieces of glass. But despite the somewhat wild nature of the reception, everyone was having a great time, including the newlywed couple.

Brad had joined Adam on the dance floor and danced along with him. Once again, his husband had managed to bring out the inner rosebud within him... and he freaking loved it. The former General Manager had the time of his life, not only did they have the perfect wedding, but they also ended the greatest day of their lives with one hell of a party, it was the kind of party only Adam could throw. Of course partying would still be allowed during their marriage... as long as ex-girlfriends (or ex-boyfriends, for that matter) weren't invited. During the reception, Brad was able to chit-chat with his old friends, the rosebuds, and managed to catch up with their daily lives. A couple of rosebuds had found jobs, had entered a relationship or had gone through a nasty break-up recently, and of course, if you possessed the rosebud mindset, partying was the only way of taking that pain away.

But it was not only the rosebuds the former General Manager talked to that night; he finally got to know who Emily really was. And he had to say, they got along great. Emily, the woman who had helped to make all of this possible, was very friendly, had a good sense of humor and wished Brad and Adam nothing more but the best. Brad had to admit, he was pretty surprised (and honestly, pretty relieved as well) to find out that Emily was only attracted to girls. Overall, he had a great time.

And of course a reception wouldn't be complete if it didn't have a gentle song everyone could slowly dance to. As the reception was reaching its end, it was time to cease the rock music and replace it with that song; almost everyone found a partner to dance with and engaged in a slow dance. It wasn't hard to guess who Brad picked as his dance partner; it was no other but his husband Adam. As they held their bodies close together while they slowly, yet romantically moved over the dance floor, the newlywed couple couldn't help but becoming helplessly lost in each others' gaze.

It was like they were the only ones who existed in this world.

* * *

The reception lasted until past midnight, but Adam didn't feel like going to sleep just yet...

As soon as they arrived back at home after the reception had ended, Adam suddenly swept Brad off his feet and carried him inside their house in bridal style. Just before the former General Manager of Raw could question what the hell his husband was doing, he noticed that they were heading towards the stairs, which could only mean one thing... and the realization made Brad grin from ear to ear.

As the party animal carried his husband up the stairs, all kinds of sensual thoughts plagued Brad's mind. He could already imagine it all and he wanted it so badly. The thought of their bodies touching each other and pleasure flaring through his body was more than enough to make his cheeks color red; a sweet lovemaking session was the perfect way to end this wonderful day. Before they reached the top of the stairs, Adam glanced at Brad for a moment. And as if he could read his mind, a seductive smile spread across the party animal's face. His husband had guessed his intentions right; he was planning to end the night with a passionate blast.

Adam reached the top of the stairs, turned right and opened the door that lead to their bedroom. Once they were inside, Adam walked over to the bed and gently put Brad down, his back touching the sheets. Both men were more than ready for what was going to come next.

Tonight, it was only just the two of them.

'You think you're still up for making a bit of love, Braddy?' the party animal asked with a sexy grin while slowly unbuttoning his jacket.

Brad softly chuckled and nodded. 'Oh, believe me... I want nothing else at this moment.'

'I already thought you would say that.'

Adam tossed his unbuttoned jacket on the floor and crawled on top of Brad, catching his lips in a sensual kiss. The former General Manager of Raw let out a soft hum as he felt those soft, addictive lips on his, closing his eyes as he gave into the kiss. He curled the corner of his mouth into a smile when Adam ran the tip of his tongue over his lower lips, he knew exactly what he was doing; he was teasing him. That was so typical of Adam, he loved to often tease him during sex. He didn't hesitate to slightly open his mouth, allowing the party animal to dip his tongue inside him and start searching for his husband's tongue. He quickly found it, brushing right against it. Once the two tongues touched each other, Brad immediately responded by swirling his tongue against Adam's, only increasing the passion that was burning in both their bodies. The party animal broke the kiss after a moment in order to unbutton his husband's jacket. Brad bit his lower lip as he watched those strong hands slowly stripping him, it turned him on even more, feeling his pants becoming tighter and tighter as the seconds ticked by. Adam took of his jacket and simply tossed it to the side of the bed; his shirt followed soon after, leaving his husband shirtless. Adam leaned forward and gently kissed Brad's neck, earning a soft sigh of delight from him. The party animal knew exactly what buttons he had to push. He let his fingers trail over Brad's bare chest and soon his fingertips his left nipple, gently pinching and rubbing it while he continued to kiss the sensitive skin. A loud moan escaped through Brad's lips as he felt the first jolts of pleasure travel through his loins.

'Ah... Adam... please...' he panted with a voice that sounded so unbelievably wanton, he almost couldn't believe he was able to sound like that.

'Please what, Braddy?' the party animal replied in between the kisses.

'Adam, please... let me... fuck you...'

Adam looked up and stared at Brad, blinking his eyes in surprise. During this relationship it rarely happened that the former General Manager was going to be the top whenever they had sex, but when it happened... Adam was going to have the ride of his life. Knowing this, the party animal chuckled and nodded. Besides, the thought of Brad pounding inside him... God, it was almost enough to drive him crazy with passion.

'Alright then. I want it, I want it so badly!'

Upon hearing those words, Brad rolled Adam around, now lying on top of him. He didn't hesitate for a moment to unbuckle his belt and pull down Adam's pants, taking his boxer short and shoes along with it. Staring at Adam's fully naked body, the body that he adored so much, made him so hard that it was almost painful. The former General Manager of Raw quickly removed his own pants, underwear and shoes before getting back on top of Adam again. Feeling their most sensitive body parts briefly touching each other made both men softly hiss in pleasure. Brad gave Adam a quick kiss on the lips before reaching out to the nightstand, opening the drawer and retrieving a tube of lubricant; the same tube they took with them whenever they traveled through the country to entertain.

'Lie down on your stomach.' Brad said as he twisted the cap off the tube. 'Then it'll be easier to prepare you.'

Adam grinned, nodded and turned around. He didn't feel nervous at all, he trusted Brad with what he was doing. The party animal felt the mattress of the bed slightly dent, two hands spreading his ass cheeks apart and then the sensation of something cold and thick being smeared onto his entrance. A gentle shiver ran through Adam's spine while a soft, relaxed sigh escaped past his lips. Suddenly, without giving him any kind of warning, Brad entered him with two lubricant-covered fingers, burying them in knuckle deep. This caused Adam to let out a pained groan; this had to be the most painful part of the sex, even he had to admit that.

'Adam, am I hurting you?' the former General Manager of Raw asked. 'If it hurts too much, I will-'

'No no, it's alright, don't worry.' Adam glanced at his husband, giving him a reassuring smile. 'I can take it, just continue.'

Brad slowly started thrusting his fingers in and out of him, making scissoring motions with his fingers as he did so. Adam bit his lower lip and clenched his fist in his pillow, trying to get used to the feeling of being stretched. Luckily the pain was soon replaced with a sudden jolt of pleasure when Brad pressed against that one bundle of nerves, causing Adam to emit a loud moan of ecstasy. He could feel Brad brushing against his sweet spot over and over again, practically wrecking Adam with almost mind-numbing pleasure.

Convinced that his partner was fully prepared, the former General Manager of Raw pulled his fingers out.

'Here I come, Adam...' he whispered, his voice raw with passion. Adam once again glanced at him and nodded. His cheeks had colored in a warm shade of red, a few strands of hair were already sticking against his sweaty forehead. He was ready. More than ready, to be exact.

Brad slightly spread Adam's legs for better access, leaned forward and positioned the tip of his manhood against the party animal's prepared hole. He slowly pushed in, earning a soft hiss from his lover. Adam squeezed his eyes shut as he felt Brad entering him deeper and deeper, oh God, the jolts of pleasure became so much stronger, it nearly drove him mad. Burying his face against Adam's neck, Brad couldn't help but let out a shaky groan. So tight, he was so deliciously tight...

'Ah... Braddy...' Adam moaned, feeling his husband's entire length completely filling him up.

'Adam... I love you so much...' Brad gave Adam a kiss on his temple before he started moving his hips in a slow, but steady pace. The angle was just perfect; there was a good kind of pressure and with each thrust, the former General Manager of Raw managed to brush against Adam's prostate, making the party animal see snowy white and cry out his husband's name. This only made Brad want to go on more and more, thrusting his hips in a somewhat faster pace, earning a loud gasp from Adam, followed by a loud wail of pleasure.

'Oh fuck! Braddy, p-please! Go faster!' he begged.

Hearing this request sounded like music to Brad's ears. He started moving his hips as fast as he could, slamming his manhood in and out of him. The sound of skin slapping against skin echoed through the entire bedroom, which only turned the newlywed couple on even more. Adam couldn't help but arch his back and cry out in pleasure. While he still continued ramming himself in and out of his husband, Brad gently trailed his fingers over Adam's jaw line and planted a kiss on his temple. Pleasure flared like a wildfire in both men's bodies.

'Braddy...' Adam panted after a while. 'I-I'm getting... Ah! Close!'

Suddenly, the former General Manager fully pulled out and turned Adam around. Before the party animal could question why he did that, his husband spread his legs and immediately plunged back in. Adam cried out in pleasure when Brad started slamming in and out of him once again.

'I want to see your face... when you come...' Brad answered in between his ragged panting. The sight made his heart swell; Adam's emerald green eyes were half-lidded, concentrated on the pleasure, his mouth was slightly opened, his cheeks were fiery red and strands of his long hair were sticking against his sweaty body. So gorgeous... Brad leaned forward and kissed the party animal on his lips.

'I'm gonna... come!'

Arching his back and slamming his eyes shut, Adam let out a load moan as his climax crashed through his body, his release staining his belly. The wonderful sight of Adam coming undone and those hot walls clenching around his manhood was enough to send Brad falling over the edge as well. Groaning the party animal's name, he came deep inside him, completely filling him up.

Both men didn't move, nor say anything for a little while. Then the former General Manager carefully pulled out, causing Adam to let out a soft sigh. He got off of him and lied down next to him, snuggling his face against the party animal's collar bone as the newlywed couple enjoyed the relaxing aftermath. Both of them felt like they were on cloud nine.

Suddenly, Adam nodded and chuckled. 'Yup...'

Brad looked up in confusion. 'Huh? What do you mean?' he asked.

'I have the feeling this marriage is going to last a long time if we keep it up like this.'

The former General Manager briefly laughed at the response. 'Way to ruin the mood, Adam!'

'Oh come on, Braddy! You know how I am, right?'

'Hmm. You're such a damn tease... but you're a handsome tease, though.'

Adam chuckled once again and kissed his husband on the forehead. 'I love you too, Braddy.'


	10. Little Lucy

**Chapter 10**

 **Little Lucy**

'One... Two... Three!' the audience chanted before bursting into a thunderous cheering fit, followed by the bell that rang three times.

Ignoring the pain that he had sustained during this long match, Brad managed to get up his feet after he had managed to pin down his opponent after he had hit his finisher on him. He barely could believe it... it was finally going to happen, after all this time! Dear God, he had the feeling he was dreaming.

'Here are your winners, and the new number one contenders for the WWE Tag Team Championships...' Lilian Garcia proudly announced. 'The team of Brad Maddox and Adam Rose!'

Immediately after the proud announcement, the theme song of the two men was heard through the entire arena, sealing the victory for them. Adam, who had been standing behind the ropes for a while during the important match, entered the ring with a huge grin on his face. Finally, after two long years... he couldn't be any more proud of his husband. When he saw Brad hitting his finisher on Titus O'Neil, he knew that this was going to be it. The victory they had been hoping to get for so long. And that victory finally arrived when the referee hit the floor of the ring for the third time. Adam walked towards his tag team partner/real life husband and immediately put his arm around his shoulder, both looking right into the camera and cheering as loud as they could. They could possibly be the next Tag Team Champions and everyone who was watching had the right to know how happy they were with this opportunity.

Brad quickly glanced at the commentary team's table, where the current Tag Team Champions, Viktor and Konnor, had taken place. They didn't look too pleased with the tag team's victory, glaring at them with the two bronze titles resting on their laps. Brad pointed at the titles and declared that they would be theirs soon, causing Konnor and Viktor to mockingly chuckle; but Brad was sure that he and Adam were the ones who were going to get the last laugh. Together with his husband he exited the ring and walked towards the ramp, followed by a camera to film that one perfect shot. The entire audience still cheered them on; finally there was a team who might be able to take down the notorious Ascension and end their reign over the tag team division. Turning right, Brad and Adam exited the arena, disappearing out of everybody's sight.

Even when the couple emerged from the thick, black curtains and entered the backstage section, the grins seemed to refuse to leave their faces. They were so happy, it had lasted two long years before they finally got their opportunity to get their hands on the titles. They both remembered that day like it was yesterday. After they were into their marriage for one week, Vince decided to team the two men up, forming the first husband-and-husband tag team in the history of the WWE. Brad and Adam received their fair share of support from their fans, all of them hoping they would go far in the future. And of course, to nobody's surprise, the haters hoped their careers would turn into a complete failure and that the WWE would release them soon. But it turned out they were proven all wrong. After two years of wrestling various matches, Brad and Adam received that one call they had been waiting for so long. Vince had finally decided it was time for them to have a shot at the Tag Team Championships. Adam swore he would never forget the twinkle he saw in his husbands eyes when they heard the news. And now that they had defeated the Prime Time Players, the chance that they would become the next Tag Team Champions was huge.

It didn't last long for the Prime Time Players to arrive at the backstage section as well. Both men looked tired and beaten, but they were glad that they were able to give the audience some great entertainment.

'Hey, Titus!' Brad said. 'No hard feelings, right?'

'Nah, don't worry about that.' Titus smiled and shook his head. 'You have deserved it, it was about time you guys got a shot.'

'I can think of somebody who can't be any more proud of you two!' Darren said.

Both Brad and Adam knew exactly who Darren meant by saying that. Just then, they heard rapid footsteps heading towards them.

'Daddy, daddy!' the voice of a little girl called out. Turning around, Brad and Adam saw the person who was more than eager to congratulate them on their victory.

It was none other than their adopted daughter Lucy.

Adam, who was more fond of his daughter than anything else, immediately went down on his knees. 'There you are, flower!' he exclaimed cheerfully. Lucy ran right into her father's arms, giggling as she felt his strong arms wrapping around her waist. She was only five years old and was little bit short for her age, but there was without a doubt a lot of strength in her hug, she was that happy.

'I have seen it all, daddy!' Lucy said. 'I have watched it all on TV! Now you are going to win the titles, right?'

With a big smile on his face, Brad stared at the adorable sight. That little girl right there, with the long dark brown curly hair, those big green eyes, her glasses with a pink trim and wearing a pink jacket with a purple dress, white stockings and purple shoes right over there was their daughter; little Lucy Marie Rose.

There wasn't a day that went by where he didn't think of his daughter, who was sitting at home with her baby sitter, waiting for her daddies to come home. They would talk to her every day on Skype after a show had ended; Brad would ask her if she had finished doing her homework, Adam asked her if she was invited to any birthday parties from classmates. Two years ago, the couple had decided that it was time for them to have a child, to complete their image of a perfect little family. Brad had to admit, he was a bit reluctant at first to have a child due to their insanely busy working schedules, he would feel horrible if their child would have to spend most of his or her childhood without his or her parents around. But in the end, they decided to have a child anyway. They were determined to give him or her a warm, loving childhood, busy work schedule or not; they would always be present in their child's life. Brad would remember the day they picked up their daughter at the orphanage for the rest of his life. There she was, little three-year old Lucy, standing in the hallway holding a plush bunny and a small suitcase with her very few belongings in it. The couple had heard of the girl's saddening story; she was the result of reckless sexual experimenting of two teenagers, who had immediately put her up for adoption after she was born. This child deserved a second chance, there was no doubt about it. Lucy was so shy at first when she arrived at her new home; she barely spoke, cried a lot and didn't sleep well at night. But as time went on, she finally managed to crawl out of her shell and with the love and warmth of her daddies (who had decided to take some time off from the WWE so that they could spend more time with their daughter), she grew into a fun-loving girl who loved to read, party and the color pink. Even if they weren't her real parents, Brad and Adam felt like this was truly their own daughter. But after a while, it was time for the couple to hit the road again; they had to earn money to take of Lucy, after all. It was really tough to not be with their daughter, but tonight, they were in luck. Tonight they were having a show in the city they lived, giving them finally the time to be with their daughter.

'Sorry Adam, we really couldn't hold her back!' Natalya, accompanied by Cesaro, approached the two fathers. 'You should've seen her when she saw you two winning, she was ecstatic!' the Canadian Diva laughed.

'It's okay.' Brad replied. 'Thanks for watching her for this time, you guys.'

'You're welcome.' Cesaro replied. 'We had fun, didn't we Lucy?'

The little girl excitedly nodded. 'Uh-huh, we sure did! Cesaro read me one of my favorite stories!'

Just then, Brad and Adam noticed that the Swiss was holding a book. He handed it over to the former General Manager of Raw. It was the classic story of 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland'. 'There you go.' Cesaro said. 'I can tell she loves this story, she knew every single word that was written!'

'Oh, do you, now?' Adam asked Lucy, standing back up on his feet and still holding the little girl in his strong arms. Lucy once again nodded in excitement. 'You think you can read it for me later, daddy?' she asked.

'Of course, flower! I would love to!'

'Hey, what about me, young lady?' Brad asked jokingly. 'I thought I was the one who had to read you stories!'

'Well yeah, I know that, daddy...' Lucy said. 'But this time I want daddy to read it, you have had your turn many times already!'

Everyone laughed at the answer. Ah, the sweet innocence of a young child, it could be hilariously cute sometimes.

'But daddy...' the little girl suddenly said. 'You haven't really won the titles yet... when will you win it?'

Brad smiled and kissed Lucy on the forehead. 'Don't worry about that, princess.' he reassured her. 'We will win it soon enough. Isn't that right, Adam?'

'You're right about that, Braddy.' the party animal replied, smiling at Brad. 'We're gonna win it for our little girl here.'

Lucy giggled. 'I know you can do it. You are the best wrestlers in the world, after all!'

Her daddies would always be her heroes... no matter what would happen.

 **And that my friends was 'Are You Mine?'! I wanted to make a sequel to 'Do I Wanna Know?' for a long while and I have to say, it feels great to be back! I have been quite busy with work and other stuff lately, so I'm very glad that I was able to write this in my spare time. Now that this story is over, I am planning on writing a fanfic which will include a certain lunatic we all know and love ;D Thank you all for reading, faving, following and reviewing! See you next time!**


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